The Victory of Donna Darkwolf - Witch of The Moon

“VICTORY!" by Thomas Bergersen and the Two Steps from Hell Orchestra.
Painting by: Frank Frazetta (Moon Rapture).

My shiny, beautiful Nefertiti, (whose name means "a beautiful woman has come,") sings.

from:  Donna darkwolf@netactive.co.za
to:  moreno franco morenofranco.design@gmail.com
date: Mar 20, 2017, 10:11 PM
subject: do u remember sending me this

"A witch always seeks one who can master her sorcery.
And help her live safely as a witch".
As I for you, my franco. All these years…
Your bella Donna Strega de Luna.

My Spanish Dancer, the Bella Donna of Forbidden Paradise

Left the Shadows Of Paris, followed me East Of Suez

She said she was to become my Woman Of The World

Up in the honey-moon suite of Hotel Imperial

She gave her Flower of The Night to taste and drink

Ever The Charmer, Good And Naughty she behaved

Like a Woman On Trial and I coaxed out of her

Her Loves Of An Actress and her Hollywood sex-yearning

She pretended she was The Woman From Moscow

Proclaimed that we would hence forth always have our Secret Hour

Even if we had to wear The Crown Of Lies

Or crawl through Barbed Wire

At the end of our tryst we were Three Sinners

She, me and our Dream, flourishing against all probability

Like a Lily Of The Dust

Donna added:
( "We, in a tryst that will never end,
Not even with the passing of we two. Stay close.
Follow me.
It will follow us into Eternity, my franco.
your Nefertiti
Roma Victor! )

Il Victoria de la Donna Darkwolf - La Strega de Luna

The poem above was composed from the titles of books I was looking at in my bookshelves.
And the irony of all this, is that Donna often thanked me for making her life safe. Or keeping her safe.

I was not sure what Donna's words meant, then. I am sure now.
I had sent it to her in 2010 to cheer her up, while we were living in Bryanston Drive in Johannesburg

Written 29 August 2007. Chapter 7 in my book, "Vexvelt Vasche" was simply called "SEVEN". It was written to my Six Loves

It is loosely about the many lovers in my life - but SPECIFICALLY about those SIX LOVES... discussing aspects of each of them and... an Allusion to a possible Seventh :
"But I cannot live in your beautiful dream. I have already populated the world with Six of my own witches and even given the Universe a witch apiece by two of them.
I need an adventure now".

"Memory of them and their affections and seductions brings joy to my heart. Speaking with each and any of them over the years – has kept us close. Love deep and ancient, never dies…but lays smouldering and can be easily fanned into a firestorm. If one is not careful.

"Sometimes if I argue with one of them – the old ire that separated us also appears. But we are no longer jealous of the loves we have moved onto, and affection yet lingers…

(I never said this. I should have:
Seven is my lucky number and if I make a mistake – I will never find out what could have been.
Having experienced all of lifes joy in those six of you, the next lover in my life will have to be all those disparate parts now combined in ONE SOUL.
She will be The COMPOSITE of all of you – have those traits and properties that drew us each and all together.

She will be all of you. My Sister of My Spirit.)

Here is THE TWIST, being half-Spanish, I addressed all my loves "Doña ...", as in Doña Octavia, Doña Heather, Doña Lisa, Doña Barbarella, Doña Patricia, Doña Claudia...

Definition of doña: a Portuguese or Brazilian woman of rank — used as a title prefixed to her Christian name.
In English, one might say: "Lady", when talking about her, or "M'Lady", when addressing her directly.

And then... ONE DAY! After 40 Years - I find The DONNA DARKWOLF. The Ultimate Doña... Doña Donna!

My previous six loves were "witches", in a sense.

But DONNA was the One I had written about, and the One I written this for in 2000 and Seven... Fourteen Months before I met My Donna.

After witch number Six, when my friends would ask why I am not looking for another woman in my life I argued that, for the most part the women I was coming across were similar in Content to cheap comics, or glossy fashion magazines... Easy to read in an hour. And pleasing to look at - but not something I want to buy and take home.

I am "looking for a woman who is like a thick, heavy, well-worn, carved, leather-covered, mysterious, ancient TOME of Wonders, Wisdom (and Secrets..)
With One Hundred Thousand Pages. With filligreed iron hinges and filligreed clasps for stout iron padlocks."

The above was my answer to my shiny wife, my Doña Donna, one night at dinner, or after love-making, when she asked me what I sought in a woman.

"Pages with illuminated Capitals, and Runes and Heiroglyphs to be deciphered, and most of all, Adventure in Mystery, Magic and Sublime Enlightenment.
Wonderfully impossible illustrations of unknown times and places."

"With her hand written notes in the margins, items scratched out and editied with a scrawl between paragraphs. With strips of leather, or a feather or something, serving as quick-reference page markers, and other bits of note paper jammed into the spine, here and there..."

"And some blank pages at the end where I can write my thoughts, compose a few remarks, scribble a few hasty side-notes. Draw a couple of plans.
Doodle? List things.? Write reminders...?? Paste a few photographs!
Sketch diagrams, maybe...???"

Donna burst into cackling laughter. Hand on her chest, head falling onto my shoulder. Laughing uncontrollably.
When she finally managed to regain her composure, she said: "I AM That Book, that you will never reach the end of, for it is being written as fast as you can read, and YOU! are some pages behind..."
'CLINK' of glasses in the candle-light, a kiss. And as I have grown to saying to her, over the years: "I pray that the only eyes I will ever look into are yours".

And so now with the passing of time - all these years later - I know this to be true.
"For, once you have looked into Infinity, you realise that the world around you is merely a mirror.
A mirror that you must break - if you want to see Infinity".
- Donna Darkwolf

Donna Darkwolf's Big Book of Spells

SO!?? Along comes Donna!  and not just ANY OLD DONNA! N-o-o-o-o!
No no no no no no! No-o-o-o!

She, is the Arch-Priestess! " THE Donna DARKWOLF"!
As we met. And before I could introduce myself, she said, almost with a happy sigh of relief - and as if I WAS LATE, and had kept her waiting:

"Ah! You Found Me!" -

As if I had known, was supposed to know her?
As if I was supposed to be looking for her,
Was supposed to meet her by some earlier, pre-arranged, planned engagement.

We were at a party - one I was not even supposed to be at. I had been dragged out to it by a friend of mine.

And Donna always laughs about what happens next:
"The LOOK on your FACE...." followed by her laughter

Because the first surprised words out of my mouth were:
"MiGod! .... IT'S YOU!",  as I stepped back to measure her fully.

"The Immortal Kiss of The Witch and The Soldier"
The Auto-biography of Donna Darkwolf.
Arch-Priestess of The Circle of the African Moon.

One day I would design a cover for her book of US.
She - so smooth, and gently flowing.
Me with all the hard parts, and jaggedy bits
A Perfect Picture of Donna and I
With just enough space - For One More Kiss!

I was SO surprised. Taken aback. Breath-taken. Astonished. STUNNED!

I had painted "That Face" so many times, in my art, since I was fourteen.

She has featured as a Warrior Princess, a Mermaid, a Starship Trooper, a Spanish Dancer, the Indian Goddess KALI, a Phoenix, a Witch, a Belly-Dancer, a Private Detective. If there was a female in my art, Donna's face was in it.

Without thinking, she took her by the hand, with the familiarity of I "have always done this..."
Well, I have always done THIS, but NOT with Donna... and she suggested we break away from the party.

We spent the next hour talking about EVERYTHING. The Witch and The Soldier...

This was no "falling in love at first sight" romance story.
For we had always been lovers. And, in Love.

Our meeting was exactly like collecting one's own beloved spouse from an Airport Arrivals Hall.
Seeking out the face in the crowd.
The leap of joy upon identifying it! And the RELIEF of RE-UNION.
Not only excitement, but FAMILIARITY: We have done this so many times before.
Like: You went away on business. You're back. Happy travels.
Thought is: "She is returned, safely. And falling in love".
All Over Again!

"She is PERFECT!"

Within that week, we were married. And the TEN most exciting (and sometimes stressful) years of our lives had begun!
Both individually, and together. Each having met our Match. And our Equal.

The Story of The Witch and The Soldier was being written...

NEXT: Could I Have Done Any Different